He refused my offer for       . (particular)

You should        improving your handwriting. (attention)

The director of the company usually shows up only       . (occasion)

The babysitter       singing a children's song. (amuse)

When the party was ended，the whole room was       . (mess)

    A nation's humor is linked to the historical development of the country. How funny somebody finds a certain thing depends on many things including ages, personal experiences, levels of education and locations. Therefore, humor is something that is not always transferable (可转移的) in another country.

    What about when both countries speak the same mother tongue? Does that mean they will then share the same sense of humor, or can differences still take place? Let's take the example of Britain and America. Time and time again, people say that Brits and Americans don't "get" each other's sense of humor. It is often argued that one of the most common differences between the British and American sense of humor is that Americans don't understand irony (反话). Simon Pegg explores this topic in depth in his article What Are You Laughing At? He concludes that this statement isn't true and I agree with him.

    In fact, Brits use irony on a daily basis while Americans don't. I think Americans understand British irony (most of the time anyway); what they don't understand is the need to use it so frequently. When Americans use irony, they tend to say that they are "only kidding". They feel the need to make a joke more obvious than Brits do. Maybe this comes from a fear of offending (冒犯) people.

    The American sense of humor is generally more slapstick (闹剧的) than that in Britain. I think this arises from a cultural difference between the two. Their jokes are more obvious and forward, a bit like Americans themselves. British jokes, on the other hand, tend to be more subtle. This may stem from the fact that British culture is more reserved (矜持的) than American culture.

    Hobbies in general are becoming something of the past. Our lives are already filled with classes, homework, working, relationships and sleeping. When we do have a spare moment, it is all too easy to spend it on the endless entertainment and media that are right at our fingertips.

    I do not doubt that there are some people who could become a great writer or musician. I only fear that so many people are busy pursuing their education and their careers, but they never even see the potential (潜能) they have. The next great photographer or singer could be going to college right now. But they might not even know they have a gift for photographing or singing if they've never picked up a camera or a guitar.

    Of course, the final goal of pursuing a new hobby shouldn't be to become rich and famous. For most people, a hobby is just something they enjoy doing for the purpose of the thing itself. Such hobbies are still very useful. Studies have shown that people who have a hobby are less likely to have stress and more likely to have more meaningful lives.

    Most importantly, a hobby is just something you do to make you happy. I hate to break it to you, but we all have a long lifetime of work and stress ahead of us. It will make things much easier if we can practice the piano or make some collections after work.

    Sure, it's not easy to start a new hobby while going to school, but it will likely never get easier than it is right now. So think about the thing that you have always wanted to try but were too embarrassed or busy or whatever. You never know, you might become the world's next great people. If not, you'll at least be a little more well-rounded, more interesting and less stressed.

    Having good study habits is key to success in college.        To begin making the change, you need to get organized to study.

    Create a fixed study space. Find a quiet space in your room or somewhere on campus where you can focus. Studying in the same place every day makes your brain combine a certain environment with work.       

    Find a regular time for studying. If you study at the same time each day, your brain will be prepared for learning when you sit down. Review your schedule and see when you have free time.        You can study during gaps between classes or in the evening after your classes are done for the day.

           Make sure you have everything you need to study at your study space. If you're studying in a place in your home, keep things like your books, pencils, pens, and paper in that area. If you go out to study, you can take a book bag and keep all your studying materials stored there.

    Avoid distractions (干扰). When you prepare your study space, it's important to keep it away from distractions. Remove any technologies that will take your mind off your work, like your iPad.        Besides, keep other distracting materials such as outside reading, away from your study area.

    I was only in China for about 4 months last year. I stayed in Shanghai and visited some other cities        (include) Beijing. While the price feels a bit too much for a high speed train, the Chinese infrastructure (基础建设) is        (true) far ahead of any other developing country and even some developed ones in Europe. The train stations are as big        airports: almost everything in        (they) is like airports. They have all the high standards of airports but without the waiting time. The trains are just like those from Germany or France,        are clean, modern and highly developed and run at very high speeds. It is about 1,200 kms from Shanghai to Beijing, and each high speed train        (take) around 4 and a half hours to reach its destination and        are more than 2 trains every hour, each day.

    I also had the experience of        (sit) in Maglev (磁力悬浮列车) in Shanghai. There is a public maglev train that runs from Shanghai city to its international airport. The        (distant) from the city to the airport is 40 kms and the speed of the train is 430 kms/hr. It took us just around 6 mins        (cover) 40 kms and it felt rather smooth.